


Keep On Going

by Mochas N Mayhem (KoohiiCafe)



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, eating issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:48:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25392640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoohiiCafe/pseuds/Mochas%20N%20Mayhem
Summary: Lia had never signed on to go to hel- to the Devildom, but she'd found herself there anyway. There was no out for the strange exchange program she'd been unwillingly 'volunteered' for either; her life, for better or worse, was now in hell. Not that, she thought, being in literal hell was that much different than what her life had felt like before. And hey- there was a song about something like this, wasn't there? 'If you're going through hell, keep on going.'The devil already knew she was there, there was no doubt about that. But maybe-maybe... that wasn't such a bad thing. Maybe the devils might even help her get through it.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Keep On Going

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is inspired by a lovely, lovely comic called [Parasite and Girl](https://panickedpansexualprincess.tumblr.com/post/618056039702675456/hatwithglasses-taraljc-fluffmugger) on tumblr by [saccharinescorpion](https://saccharinescorpion.tumblr.com/). I'd seen it before, but the last time it crossed my dash, I found that I _needed_ to write a fic with our Obey Me boys taking care of their MC in a similar way. Thus, this story has come to be.
> 
> I'm not planning any particular ship, or to focus on a ship, but if it happens naturally, so be it. ( _And if it does, let's face it, it's me, it'll probably be a polyamorous ship._ )
> 
>  **Warning:** This story will deal with depression and mental health issues, as well as past abuse, as the brothers will be helping Lia work through these things.

It was Beel who first realized that something was wrong with their new boarder. She usually sat beside him at the dining table, Mammon on her other side, and between her quiet nature and his brother’s loud antics, it made it easy to sneak bites from her plate on a regular basis. Maybe a little _too_ easy, he was beginning to think. He knew she’d caught him at least once ( _maybe more_ ) but she hadn’t said anything at the time, she’d just given him a ( _in reflection_ ) wan smile, and then pushed her plate towards him, inviting him to finish it.

He hadn’t questioned it, feeling particularly ravenous that day, and, giving her a blinding smile in return, he’d finished off her food and then turned back to his own. And, since then, he thought that she deliberately left her plate open more often, as if silently giving him approval to eat from it as he wished. He’d partaken, of course, but as the days went by, as he stole more and more from her plate, something was beginning to bother him, although he couldn’t quite pin down what it was. It bothered him enough that, by her third week with them, he decided to approach one of his brothers for help.

“You think something’s wrong with the human?” Satan’s tone was somewhat distracted, although he made a point of lowering the book in his hands to look at the sixth-born; Beel had found him in the library, reading. Satan didn’t seem particularly interested in her: not like Mammon after forming their pact, not like the way Asmo often looked at her with undisguised lust, and not like Beel, either, like he was starting to feel as he tried to figure out what exactly was bothering him. He did, however, have a good track record of unraveling mysteries, and he didn’t seem to bear her any _ill_ will either.

“Yeah,” Beel answered simply, his frown deepening as he pushed his hands into his pockets. He took a moment to consider how to word his concern, sighing slightly. “She never says anything when I take food from her plate, though I’m pretty sure she knows I’m doing it.”

The blond snorted in amusement at that, the corners of his lips quirking up. “Not everyone is as obsessed with food as you are, Beel,” he told the younger demon. “It could be that she just hasn’t noticed. It could also be that she’s not adjusted entirely to Devildom cuisine yet, and she’s letting you take the food that she doesn’t like.”

“Maybe.” The word was quiet, his brows furrowed, but he wasn’t entirely convinced. If the look Satan was giving him was any indicator, it was _clear_ that he wasn’t convinced too. The fourth-born sighed.

“If you’re that worried about it, watch her closely during dinner tonight. I will as well, in case this is as big a concern as you seem to think it is.” He paused, tilting his head consideringly. “Keep an eye on what she _is_ eating and what she _isn’t_ eating. Try taking a sampling of everything on her plate, not just one type of food.” And then he paused again. The look he gave Beel was firm. “Not _too_ much though; we don’t want her going hungry. Just a _small amount_ of each.”

Beel grimaced. That would be… difficult. Taking only a _little_ bit of food was… But there was something gnawing at him in the back of his mind, some strange feeling that was slowly building up in his chest, and it wasn’t just the way that his stomach always gnawed at him at any given time. Their human- _the_ human, was... She was sweet to him. As quiet and reserved as she was, she always smiled at least a little when he joined her and Mammon for their TSL marathons, and always pushed her popcorn at him fairly early on in the night, seeming not to have much of a taste for it. He’d started joining her when she was reading the books too- mostly because she seemed to always keep snacks on hand, even though she hardly ever ate them herself, but also because… With as quiet as she was, and the way she would curl up at his side as she read, it kind of reminded him of the times when Belphie would drag him back to their room just so he could use his twin as a pillow for a nap.

He _really_ missed Belphie.

Maybe Satan was right. Maybe it was that she just wasn’t used to Devildom food yet. But… he didn’t think it would stop bothering him until he was _sure_ that it was that. And he wasn’t sure yet. So, bracing himself for how hard it was going to be, he nodded at his brother and answered,

“Yeah, I’ll be careful.”

“Good,” Satan said, and opened his book again. “I’ll meet you here after dinner and we can talk about it again then.” And then his attention was once more wholly on his reading, a clear dismissal in the action. With another nod, Beel turned and headed for the kitchen. There was a little more than an hour left before dinner, and a quick snack sounded like a good idea.

* * *

The hour after he’d gotten his snack seemed to stretch out forever, but eventually it was time, and he was stepping into the dining room and pulling out his usual chair. Satan was already seated across the table, directly across from what would be the human’s seat once she arrived, and he nodded briefly to Beel before resuming the discussion he was having with Asmo, who sat to his right. On Satan’s left, Levi was absorbed in his D.D.D, completely ignoring everyone and every _thing_ \- including the plate he’d already made for himself; it was going to go cold if Levi kept ignoring it like that, and Beel frowned to himself as he sat down and began to heaping food onto his own plate. Lucifer, of course, was seated at the head of the table as usual- had probably been the _first_ to arrive- and he was primly cutting up his food; he looked up briefly from his plate, clearly catching Beel’s frown, and arched an eyebrow at him.

“Is something wrong, Beel?”

Beel shook his head; if he pointed out how much Levi was ignoring everything, Lucifer would only get mad. Thankfully, he was saved from having to actually answer by the clatter of Mammon shoving the dining room door open with a loud _bang_. Immediately the first-born’s gaze shifted to glare at their brother, Beel forgotten as his eyes narrowed and he called out, his tone dangerous.

“You’re late to the table, Mammon. I trust you have a good excuse for your tardiness.” It wasn’t a question, Lucifer’s voice cold as ice cream that had melted and then been refrozen and gone rock hard. Beel hid another frown; Mammon wasn’t _actually_ late- and if he was, Beel had probably technically been late too- and the human hadn’t even- no, there she was, right behind Mammon, staring around him and at Lucier with a strange look in her eyes that Beel couldn’t quite place. It was almost like the way Belphie looked sometimes, when he was too tired to care about anything and only wanted to sleep, but- not _quite_.

“I, uh- I,” Mammon began to stammer, pulling Beels attention back to him. The white-haired demon was physically fumbling, turning to grab the human behind him and shove her forward, between him and Lucifer. “Lia was lost!” he exclaimed, his hands finding her shoulders and pushing her another step forward. “And I, the _Great_ Mammon, was kind enough to go find her and lead her to dinner, so really, if I’m late, it’s just ‘cause I was doin’ my job! The job _you_ gave me, ya know! I was doin’ you both a _favor_.”

“I see.” Beel wouldn’t have thought it possible, but he was pretty sure Lucifer’s voice had just gone even _colder_ than before. As his crimson eyes narrowed further, Beel pulled his plate subtly closer to himself and away from his eldest brother, slightly worried that that chill might spread to his food. He watched as Lucifer’s gaze shifted to the human in question, his voice still _just_ as cold as he asked, “Is that true, Lia? You got lost- in the house you have lived in for three weeks, I might point out- and Mammon had to find you and bring you here?”

If she was at all intimidated by the question, or the cold chill in Lucifer’s voice, it didn’t show. She shrugged instead, like Belphie used to all the time when he was sick of their oldest brother, and answered quietly, “It’s a big house. I got lost and Mammon came and saved me.” 

And then, as Mammon almost wilted in relief behind her, she headed towards her chair, pulling it out and settling down beside Beel without a word. She studiously ignored the glare Lucifer pinned first her, and then Mammon with, silently beginning to add food to the plate in front of her.

“I will forgive your tardiness- _this time_ , Mammon, and this time _only_.” Lucifer paused, and Mammon took the opportunity to rush after the human, quickly claiming his own seat before their brother changed his mind. “Lia, if you become lost again, you will call _me_ ; Mammon clearly is not able to watch after you as he should, if he _allowed_ you to get lost. Next time, _I_ will come to find you.”

The words were clearly a threat, and everyone at the table knew it. Mammon cringed in his seat, hurriedly beginning to heap food on a plate as if it would hide the anxiety coming off him in waves, and Beel resisted the urge to scoot his chair closer to the human, who didn’t even look up at the words. Beel’s brows furrowed together, and he glanced from her across the table at Satan, who was just barely frowning. The blond shook his head minutely, his eyes flicking swiftly to Lucifer and back, and Beel turned his attention back to Lia quickly, understanding what he meant.

“Do you understand?” Lucifer asked when it was clear she didn’t intend to reply. Still without looking up, she told him evenly,

“I understand.” And then, done with filling her plate, she pulled it back toward herself and shifted all of her attention to her meal.

There were a few moments of silence, no one speaking as they took in how calmly Lia had dismissed Lucifer. Even Levi had stopped playing with his D.D.D. and was looking up at the human with wide eyes. After what felt like an eternity, Asmo was the first to break the silence, excitedly proclaiming that he’d found an _amazing_ sale at Majolish, and they should all just _see_ what he’d bought. Mammon, eager to shift attention away from himself and Lia, took the bait, and then Satan joined in as well, the three of them talking loudly. Levi returned his attention quickly back to his game once the conversation started, and Lucifer?

Lucifer was watching the human with narrowed eyes, his food left only half cut up on his plate. Beel swallowed quickly and, before he could change his mind, scooted his chair closer to the table, blocking his brother’s line of sight with his own body. He dove into his food immediately after, deliberately not looking at Lucifer, although he could _feel_ the older demon’s eyes boring into him. After a moment, he heard the other pick up his silverware again, returning his attention to his food; a tenseness that Beel hadn’t fully realized had set in slipped slowly from his shoulders.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

Beel, mid-bite, turned to look down at the soft sound of her words. She was more pushing her food around her plate than actually eating, and she wasn’t looking up at him, but there was no mistaking who she was talking to. He frowned, swallowing the bite he’d just taken, as she added,

“I don’t care if he’s mad at me. I’m an exchange student; he can’t do anything to me.” She paused, shrugging lightly as she speared a piece of meat with her fork. “Even if he could, I still don’t care. I’ll be out of here in less than a year no matter what; you have to live with him forever.”

He didn’t respond immediately, trying to decide how he felt about what she’d said. He watched as she raised her fork to take a tiny bite, and then lowered it again, most of the meat still on the fork. His brows furrowed deeper than they’d already been, and he settled on saying,

“He’s my brother. Even if he gets mad right now, he’ll forgive me eventually.” Or at least, he hoped he would. Just like he hoped that, when Belphie came back from the human world, he and Lucifer would be able to make up again. That was what family did, wasn’t it?

Lia looked up and gave him a small smile, and there was something almost sad around the edges of it. Something in his chest ached at the sight of it. She told him, “I hope so,” in a voice that said she didn’t believe it even as she said it, and then turned back to her plate.

Beel rubbed at his chest, wondering at the way it hurt. When it didn’t help, he bit back a frown and turned back to his own food instead. Whatever it was, it wasn’t as bad as the hunger pains he got so often; it’d probably go away eventually. For now, there was food to eat, and he needed to pay attention to Lia’s food as well.

* * *

He hadn’t ended up stealing any of her food, despite what Satan had told him to do. Actually watching her as she ate, he’d quickly realized what had been bothering him for so long; she _wasn’t_ eating. Or at least, she wasn’t eating _much_. Anytime she’d lifted her fork to her mouth, she barely took the smallest of bites, and even that she did rarely; her plate had still been almost completely full at the end of dinner. He knew his brothers didn’t eat nearly as much as he did, and humans probably ate less than they did, but. Even humans needed more food than what she’d actually eaten off her plate, didn’t they?

Satan hadn’t reached the library yet- he’d been talking with Asmo still when Beel had left the table, so he might be awhile still- so Beel turned to the library shelves. He didn’t often read from the huge collection they had- barely anyone other than Satan and Lucifer did- but… there had to be _something_ there about human eating habits, right? Not that he knew where to look, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. He went to the shelf closest to the door and started looking through the book titles he could see, hoping to find _something_.

That was how Satan found him some time later. He'd lost count of how many shelves he’d looked through, and he still hadn’t found anything useful; he was so focused on his search that it almost startled him when he heard his brother’s voice right behind him, asking,

“Are you alright, Beel?”

Beel turned quickly, looking down at the other demon. “I’m worried,” he told him, and Satan nodded, one hand raising to his chest.

“So is everyone else- although they’re more worried about _you_. It’s been a long time since you were the first of us to leave the table. Don’t be surprised if some of the others check in on you later.”

Beel blinked, thinking back, and- he had been the first up, hadn’t he? Well, other than Lia, who’d excused herself just before he had. He’d just wanted to get to the library so he could talk to Satan about what he’d realized. He huffed out a sigh, shaking his head.

“I wanted to see if I could find a book about how humans eat,” he told the other demon. “Because-”

“Because she’s _not_ eating,” Satan finished, and Beel nodded. He’d noticed too then. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with her recently; have you seen her eating outside of mealtimes at all?”

He shook his head, even as he thought back, trying to remember anytime he’d seen her eat more than a little bit of anything. Mammon always made popcorn for their marathon nights, but she always gave hers to Beel after just a few bites. There were the snacks she kept in her room too, but- again, she never actually ate them. Why did she- was she keeping them for _him_? And while her plate usually ended up empty or near empty at meals, he knew now that was because of _him_.

“She keeps food in her room,” he told his brother, frowning, “but she always gives it to me.”

Satan sighed, and made a face that looked almost pained. “We should talk to Mammon; he’s with her even more than you are, and has a pact with her; it’s at least _slightly_ possible that he might know something we don’t, even as oblivious as he is.”

“I can text him and ask,” he offered, and the blond shook his head.

“If we ask him over text, he’ll end up freaking out once he realizes the situation. This needs to be handled delicately, and in person.” Pulling out his D.D.D., the fourth-born dialed Mammon’s number. Beel listened and waited, just barely able to hear the tinny ringing from the device’s speakers; he heard Mammon pick up a moment later, although his voice was too quiet and distant for him to make out what he was saying. As Satan began talking, Beel tuned him out impatiently, turning back to the shelves he’d been searching.

There had to be _something_. Maybe a guide to the dietary requirements of humans? A manual for the care and feeding of humans? A book about the biology of humans? They had one of the biggest and most well stocked libraries in the Devildom, courtesy of Satan’s love of knowledge, there had to be _some book_ that would help, _somewhere_ in here.

“You’re looking in the wrong section.”

Beel started, turning as he realized that his brother had finished his conversation and hung up his D.D.D.. The other demon gave him a somewhat amused look as he continued,

“These shelves are all spell and magic based books. What you’re looking for is probably up on the second floor.”

“Ah.” And- well, most of the titles he’d been skimming _did_ seem to be magic based, didn’t they? Beel frowned and asked, “Where on the second floor.”

“Leave that to me,” Satan said, shaking his head again. “Mammon’s going to be here soon; I’ll start on some research once I’ve talked to and dealt with him. I have another job for you.”

“Alright. What is it?” He wasn’t sure what ‘job’ the other could mean, but he trusted Satan. Even if he hadn’t been interested in Lia before this, the serious look that had been on his face since dinner was telling; he was invested now, more than he had been when Beel had first asked, and he would help.

“I want you to spend the evening with Lia. Go to her room- or maybe even yours- and lock the door. I’m going to try to keep Mammon calm, but just in case, I don’t want him bursting in on her in a panic; that won’t help anyone.”

Something twisted in his chest at the thought of taking her to his room- to the room he should have been sharing with _Belphie_. But Belphie was gone, sent up to the human world as part of the exchange program, whether he’d wanted to go or not. And Lia was kind and sweet. She kept snacks just for him, apparently, and she’d stood up to Lucifer for Mammon’s sake tonight, something that hadn’t been done… for as long as Beel could remember. Maybe not since they’d fallen. And if he took her to his room, Mammon wouldn’t think to look there…

“Got it,” he said, and nodded firmly. Satan nodded in return, adding,

“You might try taking some food with you; see if you can get her to eat anything.”

Alright. He’d raid the kitchen- and he’d have to be careful _not_ to eat all the food he found himself- and then ask Lia if she wanted to hang out. As long as he could control his hunger, it would be simple.

“I’ll go do that now,” he said, and then paused. “You’ll tell me if you find anything out?”

“Of course,” Satan answered. “I’ll text you later tonight regardless of what I find.”

They exchanged another nod, and Beel turned to head out. He paused as he reached the library door, though, looking back at his brother.

“Thanks,” he said, as solemn as he could be. Satan gave him a half smile and shook his head.

“I should be the one thanking you; you gave me a mystery to work on. I look forward to figuring it all out and solving it.”

Beel considered for a moment. Satan might _say_ that’s all it was, but. He knew it wasn’t. If it was, Satan wouldn’t be so concerned about keeping Mammon from barging in on her and making things worse. He didn’t call Satan on it though, just nodded, and then turning to head out of the library.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, many thanks to my wife, [Gyhl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyhl), who is my beta and who gets to put up with me shoving stuff at them and praying that it's okay. XD
> 
> If you're curious what Lia looks like, I have a [character visualization post](https://panickedpansexualprincess.tumblr.com/post/624125896919580672/a-visualization-post-for-my-obey-me-mc-lia-from) over on tumblr!
> 
> If you're on tumblr, you can find me at [PanickedPansexualPrincess](http://PanickedPansexualPrincess.tumblr.com).


End file.
